Yesterday, I went downhill skiing for the first time. I grew up skiing cross-country in the Chicago suburbs every winter -- we even had our own skis -- but my dad forbade us from downhill skiing. He is a doctor and had seen too many injuries to feel comfortable about it.
So I have always looked at skiing as something that other people did. It was too expensive, too cumbersome, and too dangerous. I love the snow, and I have taken my kids to the mountains for sledding, etc., for several winters in a row, but I had never tried downhill skiing.
To make a long story short, a unique opportunity arose on Thursday. There seemed to be a break in the rainy, snowy weather; the schools were on strike; and there is a new airline, Advanced Air, that runs a daily flight to and from L.A. and Mammoth Mountain, up north.
I decided to take the plunge -- and it was expensive -- and brought my two elder children along. Initially I had just wanted to see the snow, but then I thought of signing them up for ski lessons; they, at least, should learn. And then I thought: why shouldn't I try, too?
So I scheduled a lesson. And I nearly missed it: the rentals and so on took so long that by the time I had taken my kids to their lessons, I was already 45 minutes late for mine. But I met a kind ski instructor who agreed to teach me -- starting from the most basic skills.
I learned quickly. (She told me that I was the quickest student she had ever had.) I should have been afraid, but I wasn't -- partly because I had no time to be afraid, partly because I trusted my instructor, and partly because I really, really wanted to do this.
Within an hour, she was taking me up on a ski lift -- in blustering, blizzard conditions. I wished I could have taken photographs with my phone, but I did not want to drop it -- or to lose a ski pole. I took it all in -- the forest, the snow, the mountain and all of its mysteries.
I began to cry. I was so moved by the beauty of it, and by the fact that I was doing something that I had always believed was not for me. We reached the top and I began skiing down -- and I could do it. And it was so beautiful, with big, fat snowflakes falling all around.
I cried once more on the way down, and again as I said goodbye to my instructor. I told her that she had changed my life -- not just because I can now ski, but because I had confronted a lifelong fear. The sun came out; we flew back to L.A. 2 hours later, transformed.
I should have noted in my message about the weekly Torah portion that this week is Shabbat Chazon, the Sabbath of Vision. We are about to mourn -- but see through that pain to something better that lies beyond, on the other side.
Wishing you the best vision -- and an incredible reality to follow. It happens!
We begin the final speech of Moses to the people of Israel before they enter the Promised Land. He relates the ups and downs of the years of wandering in the desert, before, finally, the people have the merit to enter the land itself.
This Sabbath always precedes Tisha B'Av, the Ninth of Av, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. It is the anniversary of the destruction of both of the Holy Temples, and a catch-all for many calamities that befell the Jewish people.
A word on Tisha B'Av. This year I am leaving for an overseas trip during the afternoon of the holiday -- in the middle of a fast day. Not idea, but there was no other choice. But my flight is in the afternoon, which is significant.
We relax some of the harsh, mournful customs of the day in the afternoon. We start to pray normally; we sit on regular chairs; we start to have hope again in the redemption that will, one day, lead us all back from exile to our home.
I'll be taking a trip to a land where an important part of ...
President Trump is in Scotland, playing golf and making big trade deals -- a major deal with the EU, in fact. Meanwhile, there is a global outcry about humanitarian aid to Palestinians (not about the Israeli hostages, mind you).
On top of that, Democrats are at their lowest polling numbers ever -- so they are trying to win control of the House by redistricting in the middle of a 10-year Census cycle. Oh, economic optimism is up, so they have a tough road.
And Tulsi Gabbard's revelations about the Russia collusion investigation make it clear that Obama's lieutenants lied to Congress. How deeply was he himself involved? The media continue to ignore the evidence, but we certainly won't.
Special guests:
Nick Gilbertson - Breitbart News White House correspondent, on EU deal
Frances Martel - Breitbart News foreign editor, on Trump abroad and Russia
John Spencer - urban warfare expert, on humanitarian aid and war in Gaza
Bradley Jaye - Breitbart News congressional correspondent, on the ...
